Þórbergur Þórðarson

Þórbergur Þórðarson (Thórbergur Thórdarson) (Hali í Suðursveit, 12 March 1888/1889 – Reykjavík, 12 November 1974) was an Icelandic author and Esperantist.

An ironist, satirist, volatile critic, and ground-breaking achiever in experimental auto-fiction, Þórbergur arguably remains among Iceland's most beloved 20th century authors. He is considered one of the greatest Icelandic stylists of his day, with an unrivalled vocabulary and astonishing facility for written expression. Therefore he was respectfully dubbed "Maestro Þórbergur".

Þórbergur was an autodidact. As recounted in his largely autobiographical works, Íslenzkur aðall (1938) and Ofvitinn (1940), Þórbergur lived in poverty for much of his youth and early adulthood and could not afford secondary or higher education.

Key years
1888-1906  Grew up in Suðursveit.

1906-1909  Worked as a ship's cook.

1909-1913  Attended school without graduating.

1913-1918  Studied literature and philosophy at the University of Iceland but was not allowed to graduate.

1916           Began collecting Icelandic vocabulary.

1918           Delved into theosophy and yoga.

1918-1925  Worked as a teacher.

1924           His mistress gave birth to their daughter, Guðbjörg.

1925           Devotes his life to Esperanto.

1932           Married Margrét Jónsdóttir.

1921-1940  Travelled extensively in Europe.

1974           Received honorary doctorate from the University of Iceland.

Nov,12 1974 Died at Vífilsstaðir Hospital.

The 1934 trial for offending Nazis
In January 1934, Þórbergur wrote a series of essays for the socialist daily Alþýðublaðið, titled "The Nazis' Sadistic Appetite" ("Kvalaþorsti nazista" ). Iceland's public prosecutor filed charges against Þórðarson for supposedly offensive clauses in the article, one of which labelled Adolf Hitler "a sadist". The Supreme Court of Iceland agreed with the prosecutor and found the author guilty of "derogating a foreign nation". The court sentenced Þórbergur to pay a fine of 200 krónur.

English translations
The relatively little of Þórbergur's work which has been translated into English consists mainly of fragments from his larger works. Portions of Íslenzkur aðall (1938) were published as In Search of My Beloved in 1967. In recent years, Professor Julian Meldon D'arcy has translated a fragment from Bréf til Láru (1924) as a short story, titled "When I got pregnant", as well as the first full book to appear in English translation: The Stones Speak (2012), Þórbergur's childhood memoirs, originally published as Steinarnir tala in 1956. Further translations are in progress.

Museum


On 30 June, 2006, a museum and cultural centre was opened in Hali, Suðursveit. It is called the Þórbergssetur, and is dedicated to Þórbergur's work and life.